More Than the Sum of Your Deeds: A Reylo Story
by allycarson
Summary: Rey is a reporter trying to prove herself on her first big story and Ben Solo is involved in an international crime syndicate, the disgraced son of a senator. Slow burn Reylo. Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

"Rey."

The barista calling her name into the crowded Vermont coffee shop broke her contemplative revere. Rey politely wove her way through the patrons in the tiny cramped space to retrieve her latte. Why her source had chosen this sleepy town as a meeting place she would never understand, but if anonymity and "middle of nowhere" were what he was going for, he'd found it. She stepped out of the shop and up the stairs to street level as the tiny bell on the door jingled as it closed. The cool wind of the March breeze whipped into her wavy, shoulder length hair. She pushed a few strands out of her eyes. The street was far from crowded, she chuckled inwardly, everyone was already in the coffee shop, she thought, amused.

Her source hadn't given a specific meeting place, just told her to walk along Main Street on Thursday, mid-morning and he would find her. That had seemed sketchy at first, when she had gotten his message sitting in her tiny Manhattan cubicle but after arriving in this tiny town last night the plan seemed much more feasible.

Rey took a sip of her coffee as she considered ducking into a greeting card shop when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She spun on her heel to find an illegally handsome man with spiraled curly hair who was just taller than herself standing casually behind her.

"Poe?" she stammered, "Are you Poe?"

"Let's not announce it to the world, ok?" he said with a flick of his eyebrows.

"Sorry," she quickly lowered her voice, she was already giving away that this was her first real assignment outside of the gossip column to call all her own. Sure, she'd assisted Plutt many times on the more hard hitting pieces, but nothing like this, this was…entirely different.

"Where can we talk?" she asked him, too eager, she inwardly chastised herself. She needed to calm herself down and fast, or she might lose him.

Poe just inclined his head a bit and started walking down the sloping sidewalk toward the heart of downtown, or whatever passed for downtown in this small place.

"Did you bring a map…or something?" She faltered when his eyes rolled at her question.

"What year do you think it is, exactly?" He asked with a cool tease in his voice.

"But you can help me find him?" She took a double step to keep up.

"Yeah," he caught her hand in his. She was a little taken aback at the familiarity, also ready to run for her life, when she realized he was palming a small flash drive. She managed to catch it as he released her hand. He didn't miss a beat, just slipped his hand up her arm to her elbow and laughed casually in her direction like she had just told an old running joke between the two of them.

"Finn said you knew his sister?" she asked, frantic to get all her questions out before this man slipped through her grasp.

"Yeah, I grew up in her neighborhood." He replied.

Rey made a mental note that he came from money and may yet have an abundant supply. That must come in handy for his covert lifestyle.

"So you knew him?" She didn't dare breathe the name for fear Poe would bolt.

"No, never met him." He answered.

"But…"

"They were estranged." Came the quick reply.

Rey let that sink in a moment as she searched for her next question. "What about Han?"

"Her husband? I didn't see him much," he gave a dismissive shake to his head.

"Would he know where…would he know anything?" She asked.

Poe laughed a much more genuine sound this time, "No, he didn't exactly leave a trail of bread crumbs when he left. Look, that's all I can really do for you. You have what you need for your story, and I can get all that…out of my hands." He flicked his wrist once toward her purse where she had slipped the memory stick, not half as smoothly as he had passed it to her. "You need to be careful though. There are some really bad people who want to get a hold of that."

Then just as a city bus was about to pass them, Poe jumped into the road, slipping across just in front and when the small bit of traffic had passed, he was gone.

Rey was back in New York, the news room was quiet. Even Plutt had finally gone home, and that was saying something. She pulled up the only file on the USB drive.

It was a collection of PDF and JPEG images.

Snap shots of races, a man she recognized as Han Solo hanging out the cockpit window of old antique plane. Rey was no plane expert but it didn't look like an especially sporty model. There were candid photos of a gangly teen boy who looked like he hadn't quiet grown into his facial features yet. A few of the photos were very dark and difficult to view, one seemed to show a burning building, it was night and smoke was blocking much of the shot but it she could sense it was an important piece in the puzzle.

The last picture was the man himself, Luke Skywalker. The breath caught in Rey's throat for a second when she saw him. Those blue eyes seemed to pierce right through her. The sound of a door opening behind her made her jump. She closed the file and ripped the memory stick out of the lap top. She clutched it in hand for a second before dropping it into her purse. It was late but she wanted to type up some notes before she forgot. The janitor turned on the industrial vacuum somewhere behind her. The man must have had earbuds in, because he was singing loudly, and badly. It didn't matter though, nothing could make her forget the last picture and the little sign behind Skywalker's head in the last shot.

O'Malley's Pub and Inn.

There had to be a thousand pubs by that name, but the picture would help. Still, she had her work cut out for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Kylo Ren swept his hair out of his eyes as he entered the control room of the complex.

"What is it?" he asked, not waiting for an invitation before pulling up a rolling chair and sliding to a monitor.

"It's the girl again," a short, dark haired man responded shakily, maybe regretting his decision to call Kylo in after all.

"What girl?" Kylo couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice, he didn't even try.

"From Vermont," Mitaka answered, very nearly sure now he should have kept the information to himself.

"The one with Dameron?" Kylo took control of the security feed from outside the pub, zooming in as far as the camera angle allowed and closing in on her face. It did appear to be the same girl, small, button nose, and a spunky step as she walked around trying to ask questions of passerby.

Kylo could feel the muscles of his throat constrict. She was nobody, she didn't know anything. She was most likely just a college student working on a report about his uncle. People showed up all the time around the pub asking questions. Nobody ever really knew anything. Still, the connection to Poe proved she was more resourceful than the average local newspaper reporter.

The next step was obvious before Kylo ever felt the watch on his wrist vibrating to tell him Snoke wanted to talk to him. His boss didn't take any chances.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he stood to his feet and crossed out of the room.

"Yes, I'll pick her up." He answered. The call ended immediately, before he ever took the phone off his ear.

The sun glared in his eyes momentarily as he stepped onto the street. The stark contrast with the dim quarters inside made his eyes hurt. The girl was crossing the street, a small notepad in hand. How much more obvious could she be? He rolled his eyes in spite of himself.

She was wearing a black blazer over a bright white shirt and slim, dark wash jeans. Heels, he noticed, probably to compensate for how short she was.

He crossed the street ahead of her, so that he would pass her, casually, by chance, it would seem. Actually, he decided to just bump into her at the last second. She dropped her little notepad. The thin pages went fluttering as it fell to the sidewalk between them. Naturally, he picked it up for her, very gallant. His mother would have been proud, he mused, well, not with the whole thing he was about to do, but picking up the part. He pushed the thought out of his mind, it was stupid.

The girl looked up at him as he handed her the little book. Her eyes were hazel with little flecks of gold, he wasn't sure why he was noticing that. It was the look on her innocent face though, that drove a dagger into his gut. So thankful and pleasant, trusting, she wasn't going to make this easy.

"Shopping?" he asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"Um, no," she answered looking confused.

"Oh, I just thought…your list." He motioned to the little notepad in her hand that she was currently stuffing into her bag.

She blinked a few times, the sun was glinting into her eyes as she looked up at him. He immediately shifted so that she could see him more easily as he came to stand just beside her.

"Oh that, no, it's not a shopping list…I'm…" her voice trailed off, "I'm working on a story."

Kylo hated how naïve she was, why couldn't she have been some battle hardened reporter? She was so trusting, so young. Everything inside him was suddenly repulsed by what he was about to do. He took a step away from her, eyes scanning the street. Maybe Snoke would buy that he had spoken to her and ruled out anything suspicious and let her go. However, if she was as good as she seemed to be, if she showed up anywhere else, he may not be there to stop Snoke from sending in one of his goons to collect her.

He was still debating silently with himself when his watch started to shake. He flicked his arm to see the screen, "Need help?"

It was Hux. No doubt the red haired man was standing by the door, itching to get in on the action, prove himself to Snoke.

Kylo exhaled all at once, "Hey, I'm from this neighborhood, maybe I can show you around, maybe make it in your story?" He tried to sound like an eager, fame hungry small town guy.

"That's really nice of you to offer…" She glanced over her shoulder back toward the pub.

Kylo wished with everything inside him that she would scream, run away, make a scene, anything other than trust him. He was big, he knew he was, most people were naturally intimidated without knowing why but this girl didn't seem to even notice as she tilted her chin up to smile at him again.

His stomach sank, she was too sweet. He hesitated but then a flash of fire red hair across the street caught his attention. Hux was coming. Hux wouldn't be so nice. Kylo needed to keep that man away from this girl.

"Let's go in here for a coffee," he suggested, motioning to the coffee shop across the street.

"Sure, yeah," she said following his gaze, "I love coffee."

He knew, but the recollection made him feel guilty, he really shouldn't have known that.

She ordered a latte and he quickly placed his order, being sure they went on the same tab, so he would be able to pay. She didn't seem offended at least.

"I'm Rey," she offered with another smile. Her smiles came easily, he noticed.

"Kylo," he nodded, motioning to a free table.

"You're from this area?" she asked, sitting in the chair he held out for her.

"Yeah, uh…" his phone was ringing again. He slipped it out of his pocket. It was a text from Snoke.

"Find out what she knows."

He killed the screen. Not helpful, he thought, trying to regain his train of thought but just then Hux and a meaty looking stooge he recognized from the Fresno division entered the shop. He averted his eyes.

"Yeah, I uh, I grew up right over there," he motioned vaguely to the ritzy side of town. It wasn't a lie.

Rey glanced over and then back to him. Something in her eyes caught him. Recognition maybe? He couldn't place it. Still, the look made him nervous and he looked back to the counter, willing the barista to call their names to give him something to do.

"So, you're working on a story?" he asked, hoping against all odds she would say something clearly benign and he could end this impromptu coffee date with nothing more than an awkward exchange of phone numbers at the end.

Hux and his pal, settled into a table within earshot. Another pang of sickness hit Kylo's stomach. There went any hope of getting her out of this with a convincing lie to Snoke. He considered suggesting a walk once the coffees came. But then she said it.

"I'm looking for Luke Skywalker."

Hux looked up instantly, all subtlety having flown out the window on the breeze with her words. Everything became chaotic and Kylo had to move quickly to maintain control of the over-eager thug Hux had brought.

The girl gave a good fight, but the sedative administered though the epi-pen like device easily overcame her efforts. Kylo effortlessly scooped her small form into his arms. Hux watched like a hawk from his perch, ready to swoop in if "needed." His intense interest in the girl only made Kylo more wary.

Claiming ill health, he was able to extract her from the coffee shop and the populated area of town and move her into the disguised criminal complex. Several of Snoke's thugs came by just to check on the prisoner while she slept off the sedative in the small room that was about to double as in interrogation room. None of them touched her, Kylo made sure of that. He placed a chair in the room across from her and waited quietly, giving deadly stares any time one of the men passed a little too slowly in the hall. They knew Kylo well enough to know to keep moving.

He could control the minute by minute for now, but as far as long term plans went, Kylo was at a loss. Everything was likely to go from bad to worse when she woke up.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews on the first chapter! I'm so happy to find out there was interest in this idea!


	3. Chapter 3

Rey gasped as she woke, realizing all at once that she was not in her soft bed at home in her New York apartment but was instead slumped into a folding chair.

The man from the coffee shop was kneeling in front of her and watching her intently.

"Who are you?" she whispered her voice hoarse, "What are you going to do to me?"

The man shook his head, "I'm not…" he shook his head again, thinking better of it. "I need you to tell me what you know." His eyes darted toward the door, "quickly, please."

"I don't know anything. I'm just a reporter, like I told you." She was struggling to regain her composure.

"My boss isn't going to believe that." He said quietly, "You need to give me something."

Rey felt her eyes grow wide, "Who-who's your boss?"

"Never mind that, tell me what you know, how did you know to come here." He stood to his feet.

Rey closed her eyes as she heard his steps coming toward her. Tears slipped unbidden from her eyes as she opened them again to see him standing beside her, towering, really. Her mind scrambled to recall the introductory, new employee weekend lunch at the newspaper. There had been a speaker who gave them a quick rundown on how to handle hostile sources, a few handy tips with lighthearted jokes sprinkled in. Had there been a section on being kidnapped? She couldn't remember.

"I don't know anything, but even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you." Her voice was more confident than she felt. That was something in the seminar…maybe…probably not.

The man looked her up and down, surveying her quickly with skillful eyes. Something in that look frightened and intrigued her at the same time. It wasn't evil she saw there. There was something ancient in his eyes that made her confident even as her luck was down. Something inside her trusted him though it didn't make any sense.

His eyes roamed to her bag on the table across the room, it was emptied of its contents. The small flash drive caught her eye on the table beside the now folded bag. She looked back to the tall man beside her. That item had not been overlooked, she knew.

"You know I can take whatever I want," his voice softer than she would have imagined possible.

"You wouldn't dare," she breathed. That was a ridiculous thing to say, the man had already kidnapped her, why on earth would he stop short of plugging her flash drive into a laptop…then the realization hit her.

Maybe he already had.

He was just trying to keep her talking. Her mind spun around the hostile source seminar again but nothing useful popped into her mind.

A sudden thud at the door jolted her out of her train of thought.

"Ren, Snoke is waiting, and he isn't in a patient mood." A male voice with a British accent permeated into the room.

"You need to give me something, now." He crouched in front of her then, taking hold of the chair on either side of her legs. His face was pleading but also something else… frightened?

Why was he scared?

"All I know is what I told you out there." She stammered a bit, "I-I met this man named Poe in Vermont, he gave me some papers…a couple photos, snapshots." Her breath caught. Those ancient eyes, she had seen them before, in the photo.

The young boy, Ben Solo, Luke Skywalker's nephew was squatting in front of her. But he wasn't a young boy anymore.

"The pub in the photo, it led me here." She said quietly, suddenly very sure she did not want anybody on the other side of that door to hear what she said.

"How did you find Poe?" Ben asked.

"He contacted me," she answered, looking back at the door quickly, "Why did he call you Ren?"

"What? That's my name." the man dropped his hands away from her chair standing again to his feet. Rey could tell he didn't want to talk about himself. She tucked that bit of information away.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked again.

Ben looked at the window, "Nothing. But I can't exactly guarantee our safety here either."

"Did you ever look for your uncle in Ireland?" she asked, a little thought that had been tickling the back of her mind finally forming into words.

"My uncle?" he wheeled on her.

"I recognize you from the photos on the file." She whispered, "You're Ben Solo."

"Ben Solo is dead," he turned away from her again, "My name is Kylo Ren, I told you that."

Rey's eye's narrowed but the man didn't turn toward her again, instead he walked to the table and picked up the flashdrive and slipped it into his pocket. She watched him take a breath.

She used the moment to tug against the restraints holding her to the chair, testing the limits of her reach.

Ben Solo turned to face her again. She relaxed her arms once again but he was crossing the room toward her. She winced. Too fast, too much purpose, this was about to get ugly, she set her jaw as he reached her. But instead of moving to strike her, he dropped to his knees in front of her quickly unlocking the restraint around each of her ankles.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Her voice was quaking.

"You're going to wait here." He instructed, his tone indicated it was an order.

"Why are you taking those off?"

"It's safer." His voice was curt.

"What's going to happen?" She asked, he was unlocking the restraints holding her hands behind her back.

"You're going to be as silent as possible, in this room, until I get back. You will lock it from the inside when I leave and you will not let anyone in except me, do you understand?" His voice was dark.

Before she could nod, he was sliding her chair across the room, out of sight of the window to the hall.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered.

"I'm going to get you out."


	4. Chapter 4

Ben quickly crossed the complex to Snoke's large office. The garish red decor always grated Ben's nerves a bit. In ten years, the old man had never once thought to redecorate.

Snoke lifted his bald head as Ben entered. His face already formed into the familiar sneer.

"What did you get from the girl?" The old man's gravelly voice intoned.

"She doesn't know anything, just followed a tip from Dameron about the pub, he didn't give her anything else." Ben's voice was even, betraying nothing of the heart pounding anxiety he felt in that moment.

"She gave you nothing?" Snoke asked in disbelief.

"Perhaps I would benefit from your further guidance during future interrogations," Ben schooled his expression into one of penitence.

"If you can't get anything from her," Snoke inhaled slowly as his eyes narrowed on Ben for a second too long, "Bring her to me."

Ben drew in a breath.

Hux's frenzied rap on the door interrupted the unpleasant soirée and Ben was all too happy to bow his head in respect and see himself out of Snoke's office.

Bringing Rey to that evil man was the last thing he was going to do. His mind was flying through every possible scenario to get her out of the complex swiftly, and most importantly, alive.

Ben's heart nearly stopped when he saw the door to the interrogation room ajar. His hand was on his holstered gun instantly. If some heavy was so much as breathing near the girl...that man would be dead momentarily.

But the room was empty.

He heart lurched into his throat he felt like the air was suddenly too thick to breathe.

Panicking was not an option his brain shouted at him. He had to find her. Now.

Ben backtracked into the hallway, unsure where to even begin. Everything was quiet. Hux's men had apparently cleared out.

That's when he heard it, a soft thud and quiet but angry exhale. Ben's pulse quickened again as he searched for the origin of the sound. It couldn't have been far down the hall. He tried a few doors but they were locked. He didn't have time to kick them all in.

She could have been alone in any of them. Or worse.

She wasn't alone.

Ben's rage bubbled inside him at the thought.

He slammed a flat hand into one of the locked doors. Let them know he's coming. Maybe they would run in fear.

Suddenly, there was a crash and a sharp clatter; it was just down the hall. The women's restroom. He swiftly opened the door, closing his hand around the edge to keep it from swinging too hard as he shoved his way into the room, expecting to see Rey fighting off one of Hux's brutes.

Instead, he found Rey balanced a top a small, less than sturdy looking vanity, a shattered glass vase lying in shards on the floor below her. Her eyes were wild when she saw him come in but she seemed to calm fractionally when she realized who he was.

Ben's face screwed into a scowl as he hastened to silently close the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" He growled, barely keeping his voice to a whisper.

"I'm leaving," Rey said motioning to the small window on the wall over her head, just out of reach as she stretched even standing precariously on the vanity.

"You're going to fall," he said crossing the room to her.

Rey scrambled down just as he reached her, clearly wanting a firm footing when he was near.

"I can do it," she maintained, lifting her face to meet his gaze.

"What is your plan when you get out, there could be twelve of Hux's men out there." He motioned with his eyes to the window.

"I'll think on my feet, figure it out." She answered, defiantly.

"You need a plan," he passed her, pulling her gently but purposefully out of the way by her shoulder and using the lower, but more sturdy commode, peered through the window to the street.

"It's clear," he said flatly. He heard Rey huff slightly in satisfaction.

"You still need a plan, you'll need a car to get out of here."

She rested a hand on her hip, clearly irritated, "I'm just going to run-"

"No, if Hux picks you up he won't hesitate to take you to Snoke, and he'll..." Ben groaned.

Rey's eyes widened, "Why do you work for him?" She whispered.

"I don't have a choice," Ben answered curtly.

Rey's eyebrow arched ever so slightly, but she changed direction anyway, "Your car is up there?"

He looked back at her and nodded.

"Then you better come with me."

Ben's breath caught in his throat, "I can't," he exhaled.

"You won't have much of a choice once Snoke finds out I'm missing you'll be done here anyway, won't you?" She countered.

Ben's eyes didn't leave her face as she spoke. She was wrong, more wrong than she would ever know if he had anything to do with it. But her eyes glowed with determination and her spirit was on fire as she tried to persuade him to join her.

He knew Snoke and Hux would never let her go and even if she did take his car, or any other car for that matter, she would likely be caught and brought back in. That was frankly her best case scenario on her own.

He couldn't let that happen.

"Alright," he said quietly.

"Alright!" She exclaimed, "Wait, what?"

Her shock at his immediate change of heart was plainly evident on her face.

"Let's go," Ben said, motioning her toward him as he slid the window open as quietly as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey ran her hand across the smooth, black leather of the Lamborghini as Ben slid into the driver's seat.

"Piece of cake," Rey exhaled as he hit the ignition button. The motor roared to life.

"Ahh, yeah, if running for your life across a parking lot guarded by hired guns is a piece of cake," He looked around the parking lot one more time as he spoke but all was quiet.

"This is nice," Rey breathed, glancing around the vehicle, touching the soft leather again, paying him no mind.

Ben gave her a side glance with a crooked smile, "Yeah, it's a car. Let's get out of here."

Rey felt her body being pressed into the seat by G-forces as he pushed the accelerator.

They were out of town and on the highway headed north before either one spoke again. Rey knew Ben had checked the rearview mirrors more than even the California highway traffic required.

Rey dug through her purse for her phone. It had been hours since she texted Finn saying she had arrived in Modesto and he would be worried.

"What are you looking for?" Ben asked when she sighed in frustration.

"My phone, I-wait did you take it?" she asked, suddenly remembering her things emptied out on the table.

"I did," he answered, a guiltless tone in his voice.

"Well, give it back," she held out her hand.

"I can't, I left it in the parking lot at the compound. I drove over it as we left."

"You what?" Rey shrieked.

"Phones can be tracked, Rey," his voice was calm.

"So you destroyed it?" she asked.

"I needed to make it look like an accident, this way they can't get any information off it." Ben's eyes never left the road but he released the steering wheel with the fingers of one hand, gesturing.

Rey sat back in her seat, "Finn's going to be worried."

"Rey," Ben's voice took on a gentler tone that made her look up at him, "you couldn't have reached out to him. You can't tell him anything. Snoke's people will find him, they'll find all your friends, and when they do he needs to know nothing about you. That's the only way to keep him safe."

"I can't contact my friends?"

"Not now, we need to straighten this mess out first," his voice was low.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked.

"I'm taking you to my mother," his voice was so low Rey wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.

"Your mother? Did you just say your mother?" she stammered.

"Yeah," he answered, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

"Do…you…speak often?" she asked, that really didn't fit with what she knew about this family.

He gave her the quickest of glances.

"Right," Rey nodded, he wasn't exactly chatty about his life, "Will she be happy to see you?" she really couldn't help prodding, her stupid journalistic nature.

"She won't see me."

"But you said-"

"I'm dropping you off." He answered, "My mom doesn't want to see me."

Rey didn't miss the softening of his voice on the last sentence.

"What do I tell her? What if one of Snoke's guys follows me? Where are you going? You can't go back there, Ben." The words came tumbling out faster than she could think.

She could see his muscles tightening in his arms as he drew in a long breath.

"If you show up at Leia Organa's house, they'll assume you are continuing working on your article after they hear you got away, which is what I will tell them when I get back." His voice was calmer than she'd expected.

"But-but you're not there right now."

"I'm chasing you." He answered.

"In a Lamborghini." She supplied.

He drew in another breath trying to maintain control, "You got a head start." He said deliberately.

"You know nobody is going to buy that." She shook her head.

"It's the only way to keep you safe."

That silenced her for a moment, confusion and questions piling up in her mind.

"Why do you work for Snoke?" she whispered.

Silence.

Rey looked out the window to the deep darkness only broken by mile marker reflectors.

After a few minutes of stony silence she felt the vehicle slow and when she looked at Kylo answer, he said only that they needed gas.

The deserted looking place where they pulled off was more intersection than town. A Jack in the Box sat on one side of the highway and sleepy looking gas station sat on the other.

They both got out of the car when he pulled up and stretched their legs.

"I'll grab a burger while you fill up the car, ok?" Rey started to walk away.

"No!" Kylo closed the distance between them in two fast strides. His hand cuffed around her arm, just above the elbow, gently but with purpose.

"What's wrong?" Rey asked, suddenly scared.

"They can track your credit card," he said, and then glanced around, "and who knows who is out here at night."

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeah, Ben, I might get kidnapped."

Ben exhaled, her irony clearly not lost on him "Just wait, alright, I'll go with you…and pay…I have cash." He slowly released her arm letting his fingers trail down her arm a little longer than really necessary.

Rey nodded and leaned against the car while she waited, trying to ignore the tingly sensation where his skin touched hers.

"You know this car isn't exactly inconspicuous," Rey quipped as they pulled into the drive through lane.

"That's not what I was going for when I bought it."

"What were you going for exactly?" her mind was already guessing his answer… cool, sexy, fast…

"Intimidating," his voice was so deep it reverberated inside the car a second.

"Oh," Rey said, "that's not…what I was expecting."

The Jack in Box employees were predictably excited to see the car as Ben ordered and collected their food, paid for with cash.

"Be careful, please." Ben said as he handed Rey the entire bag of food and the tray of drinks.

"Don't worry, I won't run you precious, intimidating car," she lowered her voice as she repeated his word.

"It's not that," he said with a single frustrated shake of his head, "I'm going to have to sell it tomorrow."

Rey drew in a breath before asking why.

"Because you're right," he gestured with one hand, "It's not exactly subtle. If we drive around in this long enough…if we pull up to my mother's house or anywhere they'll be looking. This car makes it way too easy for them."


	6. Chapter 6

Rey rolled her head back and forth a few times. Tightness in her muscles threatened to bring on a headache. She had never slept a whole night in a car seat before. Her eyes felt dry and she rubbed them absently before looking over at Ben who was slumped against the door and his crumpled jacket.

Brisk morning air filtered through the windows that were left rolled down about an inch the night before. Rey had thought more air would be good, but Ben suggested she might wake up to a squirrel in her lap the next morning. So she had agreed to the modest crack of the window.

The water bottle was nearly empty so she finished it off, careful not to let the thin plastic crackle or pop. Ben was more tired than he let on after all the driving yesterday and he needed sleep. The sun was streaming in through the window, it had been up for at least an hour Rey guessed and the light would wake him soon enough.

She heard Ben take a deep breath, signaling he was rousing from his sleep. He opened his eyes with a jolt, his body suddenly tensing. He reached for the steering wheel in front of him and twisted to look at her. His body relaxing slightly as the realization seemed to be setting in around him.

He blinked a few times, still looking at Rey.

"Hey," she said softly.

Ben looked forward and lowered his head to the steering wheel, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the heel of his hand.

"How long have you been up?" He asked, his voice was rough around the edges and deep.

Rey's lips curved up slightly, softening at the sound.

"Just a couple minutes."

"You should have woken me up." He said, finally lifting his head from the steering wheel to lean it against the headrest.

"You needed the sleep."

He nodded, "Ok, let's get out on the road." His hand moved to the ignition button.

"Wait," Rey said looking out the window.

"What?"

"I need to..." she bit her lip.

"Oh, yeah," he opened his door and took a few slow steps around the car.

She met him outside, rubbing her arms against the cool morning air.

"Over there looks ok," he motioned to an outcropping that seemed to lead to a more private area that still seemed passable.

"Yes, it does," Rey set off as Ben rested his elbows against the car and dropped his head into his hands again.

* * *

"Alright, so what's first on the agenda for today?" Rey asked as soon as they were back on the road.

"Coffee."

The smile touched Rey's lips before she could react to stop it, "And after that?"

"We need supplies, and then just keep heading toward my mom's place." He answered warily.

"How far is it?" She asked.

He tilted his head, "She lives in Lynden."

Rey nodded slowly trying to place it, "Lynden...California?"

He shook his head no.

"Oregon?"

He took a breath, "Washtington."

"The Washington by Canada?" Rey asked incredulously.

"That one, her place is just south of the border."

"The Canadian border?" Rey shrieked.

"We don't have a lot of options here, Rey." His voice was still low but had taken on a gentler quality.

Rey leaned her head back against the seat, "Right."

He pulled in at a small town and located a donut shop. Rey followed him inside and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She grimaced seeing herself in the mirror.

Mascara was smudged under both eyes and her skin had a oily sheen to it. She sighed and grabbed a handful of paper towels and turned the water on. The make up was not helpful at this point anyway. "Rey the reporter" was apparently on break for a while. Fresh faced would have to do, she doubted Ben would even notice or care. He seemed to be paying her as little attention as humanly possible anyway.

After taking a moment to clean up as well as she could in the public restroom she made her way back out to the cafe. Ben was leaning against a wall with a melancholy look on his face.

"Hey," she said quietly as she approached.

He looked up to see her and blinked a few times.

Ok, maybe he did notice, but it still didn't matter she decided.

"I ordered you a cappuccino," he glanced to the counter where a barista was just placing a cup on the counter.

He gave a half smile, "That's probably it, I'll be back in a minute."

He headed to the bathroom and came out several minutes later looking somewhat more refreshed as well.

Rey handed him his large latte, "This should help."

He took it without a word and began to drink.

Rey raised an appreciative eyebrow.

"So, a latte, huh?" She asked, when they were on the road again and the caffeine seemed to be kicking in.

"Not what you expected," he said, nonplussed.

"Not really, I expected you were more a..." Rey tapped her chin with one finger, "a black coffee type of guy."

"Because of my black soul." He answered, not missing a beat.

Rey couldn't completely hide her grin, "I was wrong."

Ben looked over at her then, just for the briefest of moments but let it drop.

"We need to get some supplies," he said instead.

"How much cash did you bring?" Rey said, thinking of their wallets full of useless, traceable credit cards.

"Not enough," He answered.

"So..." Rey expected him to say they would be making a fast score and once they found a good fence they would be all set.

As if reading her mind he answered, "We're not going to steal anything."

"Right," she said swiftly.

"Like I said, we need to sell the car."

Rey nodded slowly, "That isn't traceable?"

"We just need the right...establishment." He said.

"Someplace less than reputable," Rey nodded.

"Yeah, that."

* * *

"Won't you miss it?" The salesman asked, motioning to the shiny, black sports car.

Ben heaved a sigh, the social interaction portion of the car sales experience was never his favorite part. Rey could see his muscles tighten with tension.

"It's my fault," she jumped in, suddenly stepping forward after hanging back thus far in the transaction.

Ben's eyes flashed to her holding a warning and fear in the same look.

"I just get so nervous in such a fast car, are you know there's no place for groceries and I keep telling him we need a puppy," she wrapped her arm casually around Ben's waist, weaving her way under his arms and snuggling in close before smiling up at him.

She could feel his entire body tense under her touch, until he felt like a wire tight enough to snap at the slightest motion, "I want a chihuahua." She gave him a brilliant smile. Something about the smile suddenly snapped him out of the shock.

He slid his hand onto the small of her back, "I'm selling my car so we can get a labrador, not a chihuahua." He pressed his lips onto her forehead briefly. They were softer than Rey had imagined. Why had she imagined that? She flushed with embarrassment and hoped the salesman wouldn't notice.

"We're still talking about it," Rey laughed, looking back at the man who was suddenly uncomfortable watching the seemingly private scene.

"Ok, well, I'll leave you two to look around while I have the guys check this one out," he ducked under the "Buy-Here-Pay-Here" sign and jangled Ben's keys in his hand as he walked away.

Ben dropped his hand away instantly, "What was that?" He hissed.

"People are uncomfortable with public displays of affection," she shrugged.

"Yes. They are." He said I pointedly.

Rey looked up at him, "Alright, I won't do it again."

He gave a curt nod and started inspecting some of the nearby cars.

"Unless I need to," she murmured.

Ben's mouth twitched momentarily like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

* * *

Ben turned the key in the ignition of the Chevy Suburban. The motor rumbled to life. Rey could hear Ben's slow release of breath and his eyes close momentarily.

"So, we have cash now," Rey said lightly holding up the thick envelope.

"Yeah," Ben said. He shifted the hulking SUV into gear.

"Wait, maybe they would still call it off," she said covering his hand that was still on the shift knob.

Ben's eyes flitted from her hand to her eyes, "This was what we had to do."

"Right," she said, letting her hand drop.


End file.
